Artavious B. Malone, 16, of Wellington, is facing charges after an incident… (Palm Beach County Sheriff's…)

December 3, 2012|By Brett Clarkson, Sun Sentinel

A chance reunion between a father and his teenage son at Tiny's Liquor in Belle Glade was no occasion for hugs and catching up.

Instead, the run-in sparked a confrontation that ended with the dad running up the street, desperately trying to dodge the son's gunfire, deputies said.

Now, 16-year-old Artavious B. Malone, of Wellington, is charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm, according to an arrest report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

His biological dad Archie Malone, 37, of West Palm Beach, was inside Tiny's Liquor around 9 p.m. on Nov. 9 when Artavious happened to also be in there, the arrest report said.

"It was coincidental that both he and Artavious were at the liquor store at the same time," the report said. The father believed the son was in town for the Pahokee High School football game.

The two apparently shared a strained relationship.

"Archie said his relationship with Artavious has been hostile since he sent him to a juvenile center for his behavior a few years ago," the report noted.

That hostility was immediately evident at Tiny's, deputies said. Artavious bumped his dad in the shoulder, causing Archie to lose his balance. Archie responded by smacking Artavious in the face. Artavious then left the liquor store.

When Archie came outside, he saw his son reaching under the driver's seat of a white pick-up truck. That's when the gunplay started, the report said, with the son firing four or five shots at his dad.

The father was not injured but was "extremely upset," deputies said. A detective found four shell casings in the parking lot, the arrest report stated.

The son told deputies that his dad smacked him in the face inside the liquor store, the report said. The son said he didn't fire the shots, but that he heard them while his father ran.

Malone was arrested Friday. He has been in custody at the Palm Beach County jail since then.